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T O P I C R E V I E W

michaelSN99

Source: S.P. Korolev RSC Energia

Credit: RSC Energia

At Baikonur launch site, the preparations continue for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-16 transport manned vehicle under the International Space Station program. Therefore the Soyuz TMA-16 was first docked with the transfer compartment.

At the days before, the spacecraft was fueled with propellant components and compressed gases and was delivered to the Spacecraft Assembly and Testing Facility for final processing operations.

Meanwhile the designers' inspection of the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft was completed and the payload shroud was rolled on to the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft was performed.

michaelSN99

Source: S.P. Korolev RSC Energia

Credit: RSC Energia

Orbital module of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle, containing the Soyuz TMA-16 manned spacecraft was transported from the spacecraft processing facility for the general integration with LV. After arrival at the LV Integration and Checkout Facility, the basic integration of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle with the upper composite has been completed.

In the assembly/test building primary (Jeffrey Nels Williams (NASA, USA), Maxim Viktorovich Suraev (Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, Russia), Guy Laliberte (Canada)) and backup crews of the Soyuz TMA-16 transportation spacecraft made a check inspection of the spacecraft in the launch configuration and got acquainted with equipment to be delivered and returned to the ground as well as with the composition and equipment of Mini-Research Module MRM-2.

Robert Pearlman

Soyuz TMA-16 is rolled out and erected at the pad on September 28, 2009 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The rocket is scheduled to launch on September 30, 2009.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

hoorenz

Inspired by the traditional movie posters created for American Space Shuttle missions, commander Max Surayev had his own poster made for the Soyuz TMA-16 crew.

It is based on the 1969 Russian film the cosmonauts traditionally watch the night before launch: "White Sun of the Desert" (Beloye solntse pustyni).

The title was replaced by one of the most famous lines in the movie, which became a popular saying in Russian language for 'reluctant approval': "Customs give the green light!" Of course, "customs" became "Roscosmos".

The poster was revealed today following the approval of the crew by the State Commission. Roscosmos head Anatoli Perminov was presented with a signed copy. Max, Jeff and Guy were also wearing T-shirts showing their individual movie characters during the crew press conference later today.

Robert Pearlman

NASA update

Expedition 21 Crew Launches From Kazakhstan

Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams and Maxim Suraev of the 21st International Space Station crew launched in their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:14 a.m. CDT Wednesday to begin a six-month stay in space.

Less than 10 minutes after launch their spacecraft reached orbit, and its antennas and solar arrays were deployed shortly afterward.

With Williams, a retired U.S. Army colonel, and Suraev, a colonel in the Russian Air Force, is spaceflight participant Guy Laliberté, flying under an agreement between the Russian Federal Space Agency and Space Adventures, Ltd.

Credit: NASA TV

Laliberté will depart the station with Expedition 20 crew members Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt in their Soyuz TMA-14 on Oct. 10. Padalka and Barratt launched to the station on March 26.

The Expedition 21 crew members will be welcomed by the Expedition 20 crew, including Flight Engineers Nicole Stott, Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne, who will transition to the Expedition 21 crew with the departure of Padalka and Barratt. With the inauguration of Expedition 21, De Winne of the European Space Agency will become the first European commander of the orbiting complex.

Williams, 51, is making his third trip to the space station. His first flight was aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-101 mission, which delivered and installed over 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the station in May 2000. In 2006, Williams served a six-month tour of duty aboard the station as an Expedition 13 flight engineer and science officer. Williams has logged over 193 days in space, including over 19 hours in three spacewalks.

Suraev, 37, is making his first flight into space. He is a graduate of the Kachin Air Force Pilot School and the Zhukovski Air Force Academy and received a law degree from the Russian Academy of Civil Service. Qualified as a test-cosmonaut in November 1999, Suraev served as a backup crew member for Expeditions 17 and 19.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Robert Pearlman

NASA update

Soyuz TMA-16 docks at the space station

ISS Expedition 21 flight engineers Jeff Williams and Maxim Suraev, along with spaceflight participant Guy Laliberté, have arrived at the International Space Station. They docked Soyuz TMA-16 to the aft end of the Zvezda service module at 3:35 a.m. CDT on Friday.

Credit: NASA TV

Robert Pearlman

NASA release

NASA TV Provides Coverage of Space Station Crew's Return

NASA Television will cover the landing of two current International Space Station crew members. Coverage begins with a broadcast of crew farewells and hatch closure aboard the station March 17.

Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and Soyuz Commander Max Suraev are scheduled to land in the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft March 18 in Kazakhstan, completing almost a half-year aboard the station.

Upcoming NASA TV broadcasts of these events and surrounding activities include (all times CDT):

7 p.m. - Video file of landing and post-landing activities, including a post-landing interview with Williams.

Robert Pearlman

Expedition 22 Leaves Station, Expedition 23 Begins

Expedition 22 commander Jeff Williams and flight engineer Maxim Suraev have completed their mission aboard the International Space Station after 167 days. They entered the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft, then undocked from the Poisk Mini-Research Module at 3:03 a.m. CDT. After entering the Earth’s atmosphere they will parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan at 6:23 a.m.

Credit: NASA TV

Staying behind are flight engineers Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer and new Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov. The trio, who will stay until June, joined Williams and Suraev after arriving in their Soyuz TMA-17 in December 2009.

Joining Expedition 23 and expanding the station crew to six will be Alexander Skvortsov, Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko. They will arrive in the Soyuz TMA-18 on April 4.

Suraev, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the spacecraft as it undocked at 3:03 a.m. CDT from the station's Poisk module. The duo landed at 6:24 a.m. at a site northeast of the Kazakh town of Arkalyk.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Working in frigid temperatures, Russian recovery teams were on hand at the landing site to help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and readjust to gravity. The crew members will return to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of Moscow.

Williams and Suraev launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 30, 2009. As members of the Expedition 21 and 22 crews, they spent 167 days on the station, presiding over the completion of the complex's U.S. segment.

The astronauts supported two space shuttle flights and helped install the Tranquility module, the cupola viewing port and a second Russian docking module. Scientific research aboard the station continued to ramp up with the increase in available crew time and laboratory facilities.

Williams now has logged 362 total days in space, placing him fourth on the all-time U.S. list of long-duration space travelers. Peggy Whitson, who has spent 377 days in space, tops that list.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The station now is occupied by Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov and flight engineers Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer. A new trio of Expedition 23 flight engineers -- Alexander Skvortsov, Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko -- will launch from the Baikonour Cosmodrome on April 2 and join the current station crew with a docking on April 4.

Credit: NASA TV

Robert Pearlman

Expedition 23 flight engineer Soichi Noguchi sent down this photo of TMA-16's "looooong trail" through the atmosphere.

Looooong trail of Soyuz re-entry. See the shadow over "lower" cloud layer? Left side is Caspian Sea. Welcome home, Jeff and Max!